I am not defending the current system. My point is that insurance and single-payer are not the only 2 possible models. A freer healthcare market, not encumbered by the inefficiencies of insurance, could actually put market forces to work in the industry. If prices were known prior to service competition would begin and people could vote with their feet. Right now we have a overly consolidated monstrosity in the insurance and drug industries sucking profits out of the public, and these guys just want to switch it out for a different monstrosity.

> Somehow, the current US health system is the most expensive on the planet

You know why? Because we pay for most of the R&D, done by industry, that the rest of the world benefits from. For example, other developed nations like Canada have been able to benefit from new drugs invented in America's more capitalist system by restricting prices in their country even though we don't.

US pharmaceutical company R&D spending is ~80B per year [0]. Healthcare spending is ~3.6T, making pharma R&D about 2% of overall healthcare spending.

Based on the above back-of-the-napkin math, I'm inclined to think pharma R&D isn't really the main factor.

What is your support for believing it is the case?

[0] https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/phrma-research-developmen...